Universal Refugee Experience Of Home In Han's Closed Too Soon

The first half of the novel’s title, “inside out,” reflects the universal refugee experience of fleeing home. This relates to Ha’s experience in various ways. For instance, at the beginning of the novel, when Ha was still back in Saigon, she writes in the poem, “Closed Too Soon”, that, “I’m mad/ and pinch the girl/ who shares my desk,/ Tram is half my size,/ so skinny and nervous” (Lai 38). This shows how Ha was a bully who was feared by others. This proves how before the war, she was a confident person because she was in control of her classmates. However, despite her confidence at first, Ha, as a dynamic character, changed as the war and the plot progresses on. For example, when Ha first arrives in Alabama, her character changed dramatically …show more content…
This experience is also presented in Ha’s situation in many ways. One example of this is when Ha first settled in Alabama, she was unsure and unconfident. As previously mentioned, she was bullied by other children in her school. However, later on in the novel, Ha writes, “My heart lifting, / I run and shout, / Bully! / Coward! / Pink Snot Face! / Words I learned from them/ on the playground/…No longer pink, / he’s red/ blood-orange red/ like a ripe papaya” (Lai 219-220). This quote shows how Ha is getting back at Pink Boy for insulting her. This is an example of “back again” because Ha is now acting like her old self again. She is now confident and not afraid of standing up for herself. However, despite how well she healed from her losses, she could never be the same again because the traumas of war affected her to change in many ways. This made her too mature for her age and it gave her horrible memories that she would not be likely to forget for the rest of her life. Thus, despite all the things that she went through, she still found a new home to start a new life. The refugees in the article, “Children of War” shared the similar refugee experience. Amela said, “I like it better than being a refugee in Croatia. Here, people don’t judge you by your religion. When I say that I’m a Muslim, they don’t react like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to be your friend because you’re Muslim.’ Some people here don’t even know where Bosnia is, but they’re really nice and try to help. Things are getting better because we could go to school” (Brice 26). This connects to the universal refugee experience and Ha because all refugees face the trauma of war, but in the end, most of them are able to heal after adjusting to the way of life in the host country. Both Ha and Amela are able to do so. In addition to that, Amela’s life is also coming “back again” when she is able to